Safety centre
INCLUDED FREEYour contacts, your check-ins, and the things worth knowing before you launch
This isn't a monitored emergency service. In a real emergency, always contact the coastguard or emergency services directly.
Sign in to set up check-ins
Safety contacts and float plans belong to an account. Everything below, the coastal hazards and the emergency block, works signed out. Sign in.
Safety contacts
Signed outThe people we email if you miss a check-in. They don't need the app, but they do have to confirm by email first. Anyone who hasn't confirmed is never contacted.
Sign in to manage safety contacts and view float plans.
+Add a safety contactHow check-ins work
Sign in to see who would be told1
Set a finish time when you start a paddle on the mobile app.
2
Nothing happens until that time passes. There is no reminder, so watch the clock yourself.
3
Miss it and your verified contacts are emailed your plan and last known position.
Your contacts are alerted only if you miss the expected finish time by the grace period set on that plan. Until then nothing happens.A check-in going through is not a guarantee that you are safe, and a missed check-in does not always mean an emergency.Needs battery and signal, and only runs while you are recording on the phone. This is not a monitored rescue service, so for anything remote, tell a person your plan too.
Coastal safety
5 hazardsThis is general awareness, not training or certification, and it doesn't cover every coastal hazard. A sea kayak or SUP safety course with a qualified instructor is how you actually learn this.
Rip currents
If you are caught in one, do not paddle directly against it. It is usually narrow, so paddle parallel to the shore until you are clear of it, then head back in.
HOW TO SPOT ONE
A gap in the breaking waves.Choppier or discoloured water.A line of foam or debris moving seaward.
Not covered yet: licensed nautical charts, real tidal stream data, shipping lane and ferry route information, and AIS vessel tracking. They all need paid, licensed marine data this app does not have access to.
Read the full coastal safety notes →In an emergency
Readable one-handed, wet, in glareCall 999Ask for the Coastguard on tidal waterOpen the full emergency screen
999 is the UK number. Paddling elsewhere, check the local emergency number before you launch.
YOUR POSITION
Getting a fix…
Float to Liveif you're suddenly in the water
1
Lean back
Head back, ears in the water
2
Spread out
Arms and legs wide to stay up
3
Breathe
Then shout, or swim to safety
Fight the instinct to thrash. Cold water shock passes in about 90 seconds.
SIGNAL FOR HELP
Whistle SOS: three short blasts, three long, three short. Pause, then repeat. This is the internationally recognised distress signal.
Forecasts, GPS and phones can all be wrong or fail. This is a starting point, not a replacement for training, judgement, or a VHF, PLB or satellite communicator.
Right now
Signed outSign in to see whether a float plan is running.
Float plans and Live Beacon start on the phone. The web app shows and shares them, and nobody here is monitoring either.
Live BeaconShare a live position link
Mobile only, because it needs the phone actually moving on the water. Whoever holds the link sees your latest position and the distance you have covered, in any browser, with no app and no account. It stops when you finish.
SAFETY PAGES
Coastal safetySurf launches, rips, flags, drift and offshore windEmergency screenFull screen position, call and Float to LiveSafety contactsAdd, verify and remove the people we emailWhat stays freeLive Beacon, float plans and the emergency screen